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José Carlos P. Franco, Ph.D.


Department of Natural Sciences
Biochemistry

Education

Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK, 2023.
M.Sc. in Biomolecules and Cell Dynamics, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 2017.
M.Sc. in Biology, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, 2016.

Practice Areas

  • Biochemistry of Infectious Diseases
  • Medical Glycobiology
  • Mass Spectrometry-Based Glycoproteomics, Proteomics and Metabolomics
  • Molecular Biology and Molecular Parasitology
  • Vector Biology of arthropod-borne infectious diseases
  • Host-pathogen and vector-host molecular interactions
  • Protozoan parasites and arthropod-borne viruses

Research Interests

Molecular basis of vector-borne infectious diseases, including Chagas disease, African trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, dengue, Zika and chikungunya.

Arthropod vector-host interactions, with particular emphasis on vector saliva, host immune modulation and pathogen transmission.

Glycobiology of protozoan parasites and arthropod disease vectors.

Mass spectrometry-based glycoproteomics, proteomics and metabolomics applied to infectious disease research.

Host-pathogen interactions and the molecular mechanisms underlying infection and transmission.

Publications and Media Placements

Franco J.C.P., Sampaio Güther M.L., Ferguson M.A.J. Use of Crithidia fasciculata extract for the facile enzymatic synthesis of GDP-L-[3H]Fucose. Glycobiology. 2025;35(2):cwae097. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwae097.

Franco J.C.P., Sampaio Güther M.L., Lima M.L., Ferguson M.A.J. Characterization of TcFUT1, a mitochondrial fucosyltransferase from Trypanosoma cruzi. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology. 2023;256:111590. doi: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2023.111590.

Bandini G., Damerow S., Sampaio Güther M.L., Guo H., Mehlert A., Franco J.C.P., Beverley S., Ferguson M.A.J. An essential, kinetoplastid-specific GDP-Fuc: β-D-Gal α-1,2-fucosyltransferase is located in the mitochondrion of Trypanosoma brucei. eLife. 2021;10:e70272. doi: 10.7554/eLife.70272.

Fernández Freire P., Franco J.C.P., Peropadre A., Repetto G., Hazen De San Juan M.J. Carbendazim induces cytotoxic and cytostatic effects in non-tumoral human cells. Toxicology Letters. 2016;258:S248. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2016.06.1879.

Sinton M.C., Costain A., Barnes C., Shortouse O., Franco J.C.P., Wonsbek K., Mohon A., Costa J., Acosta-Serrano A., Mabbott NA, Benezech C., Quintana J.F. The dura mater maintains B cell lymphopoietic capacity during chronic Trypanosoma brucei infection. Under peer review at PLOS Biology.

Franco J.C.P., et al. Glycoproteomics and glycan-based immunomodulation of salivary proteins from mosquito vectors Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Anopheles gambiae. In preparation.

Franco J.C.P., et al. Glycoproteomics of salivary proteins from Glossina morsitans and Lutzomyia longipalpis. In preparation.

Waldschmidt A., Franco J.C.P., et al. Tissue-specific proteomic profiling and novel localization of PLC-β (norpA) in Aedes aegypti. In preparation.

Honors and Awards

2018-2022: Wellcome Trust Ph.D. Fellowship in Science. Wellcome Trust Foundation.

2016: Award for the Promotion of Research Excellence. Ministry of Education of Spain.

2011-2015: National Award for Science Undergraduate Students. Ministry of Education of Spain.